January 6th, 2010
Hey everyone! Happy New Year, and welcome to the new TCF website! It's still very much a work in progress, but because of the approaching junction where a new Communications Coordinator will take over the website, this site has been put together to make maintenance and browsing that much easier. If you have any suggestions or want to help out with content, please contact us at trentchristianfellowship@gmail.com! For now, you can be sure that this is still the place to find all of the newest stuff concerning Trent's inter-denominations student group! Below, you can find a list of activities coming up in January, as well as the same style of content you've come to expect of the TCF website thus far! Enjoy! -Ben  Opening Sequence
Angelic Laughter: Divine Reflection: With a new year, John Piper posted a list of resolutions a hero of his gave over 30 years ago. The list is great. Among my favourites are: 1. At least once every day I shall look steadily up at the sky
and remember that I, a consciousness with a conscience, am on a planet
traveling in space with wonderfully mysterious things above and about
me.
3. I shall not fall into the falsehood that this day, or any day, is merely another ambiguous and plodding twenty-four hours, but rather a unique event, filled, if I so wish, with worthy potentialities.
I shall not be fool enough to suppose that trouble and pain are wholly
evil parentheses in my existence, but just as likely ladders to be
climbed toward moral and spiritual manhood.
9. I shall not allow the devilish onrush of this century to usurp all my energies
but will instead, as Charles Williams suggested, "fulfill the moment as
the moment." I shall try to live well just now because the only time
that exists is now. 10. Even if I turn out to be wrong, I shall bet my life on the assumption that this world is not idiotic, neither run by an absentee landlord, but that today, this very day, some stroke is being added to the cosmic canvas that in due course I shall understand with joy as a stroke made by the architect who calls himself Alpha and Omega. For the whole list, go here. Inspired Word: Isaiah 1:16-17 (ESV) 16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, 17learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. News Open House Because we're getting back into the swing of things with Open House, the start of the semester is going to have a little bit of a different schedule. The first Open House of the new year is coming up next Friday, January 15th, and will be held in two different locations. The reason for this is that we are going to be having a guys/girls night, with the girls gathering at one spot and the guys at another. The details are still being developed, so we're not certain as to what activities will be taking place or where they will be held, but these will be in the next Weekly Newsletter. If you'd like to volunteer any ideas or your house, feel free to e-mail Sarah or Shoshanna. After this, we will be having a Coffee House the following Friday, January 22nd. This will be much the same as the Coffee House last semester, so if you want to perform anything, please contact Sarah and Shoshanna to let them know. This will be held at 7 PM in the Otonabee Commons, and will consist of various people performing as the group mingles and enjoys some refreshments. This time, we'd like to open it up to the group to bring some refreshments. If you're willing to volunteer to bring something, let the organizers know! The final weekend in January will then be our Winter Retreat. Because of the size of this, it's getting a dedicated header below, but what this means is that all three of the weekends in January will have something on. After this point, we will be moving back into the every-other-Friday routine we had for Open Houses prior to the break. Sarah and Shoshanna's e-mails are um_i_forget_@hotmail.com and shoshanna.duke@gmail.com, respectively. Hope to see you out! Winter Retreat Yes, another semester means another TCF retreat! An annual event, the Winter Retreat is a fantastic snow-filled weekend at Shalom on the Lake, and involves a chance to consider a topic of study while bonding with other TCFers in a smaller group environment. There will be hockey, sledding, winter sports, and other fun activities, as well as quieter reflection and learning times. All of the meals for the weekend will be provided, but because of this and accommodation costs the cost for the weekend will be $60. If you really want to come, but aren't able to foot the bill, we always set aside money for our members who need it. Sarah and Shoshanna will help you work that end out if you send them an e-mail. We encourage everyone to come out if they are capable, because this is really a highlight of the school year for those who attend. Because we're all old enough and experienced enough, the learning and conversations that take place on the retreat are breathtaking and spiritually packed, in a way that high school youth retreats aren't able to be! For those who are coming, we will be meeting at the Bata Library steps at 6 PM on January 29th, and returning in the late morning of January 31st. All cheques have to be in to Sarah and Shoshanna by January 22nd, at our Coffee House event. If you are planning on coming, consider firing them an e-mail. Also, we desperately need cars to transport people to and from retreat. If you are able to provide a vehicle, you will be compensated for gas! Please e-mail us ASAP if you're willing to do that for us!!! Sarah and Shoshanna's e-mails are um_i_forget_@hotmail.com and shoshanna.duke@gmail.com, respectively. Church in the Caf The first Church in the Caf of the new year will be taking place on Sunday, January 31st. We will be meeting in Lady Eaton Cafeteria at 8 PM, although the time and location are subject to change - meaning, keep an eye on the Weekly! Derek Green of Braidwood will be speaking. He was supposed to at an earlier date but ended up sick, so we're happy he's willing to give it another shot! Wanna be a Communications Coordinator? This being my final year at Trent, I'm afraid it's time that the Communications Coordinator mantle be passed on to a newer member within the group next year. The position is a bit time-consuming, but if you're decent with computers, a good communicator, and willing to add a bit of work to your schedule every week, helping out in this way is an incredibly rewarding experience! Because of the technical nature of the job, it is a little less open to election than most of our executive positions. While many spots on the team are filled via a year-end vote, the next communications coordinator will need to have spent a decent amount of time with me personally learning the ropes of the position. For this reason, I'm putting this announcement out there for those who are interested right now, in order that we can meet a handful of times to pass on the information and skills required. There is some technical skill required, but you don't have to be a computer major to get the position. In fact, I'm a political studies major -- I have zero official training in computers. But the position entails doing some HTML work and also some use of Flash, so you need to be able to learn these things if you don't know them already. I'm very eager to teach, so hopefully someone out there is eager to learn! If you're interested in the position, please fire me an e-mail at my personal address, pure.canuck.blood@gmail.com. I'm looking forward to working with you, whoever you are! Church Ambassadors Needed: One of the goals for TCF this year is beginning to form closer connections with many local churches in Peterborough. Chris Conboy, our church liaison, has been chosen to work at increasing communication between TCF and Peterborough churches, and has been hard at work coming up with ways that we can helpe people get plugged into places that they feel comfortable. He recently asked me if I'd be able to send out an e-mail asking veteran TCFers to perform a connection role to help out with that goal! If you're willing to represent your church for the TCF community, please speak up! I've included Chris as a CC in this e-mail, so all you have to do is hit reply all and it will go to the both of us. The goal is to have a list of people throughout Peterborough who we can use as contacts, and hopefully within the next week or two so that new students are able to get plugged in as soon as possible! If you are able to help, e-mail myself (Chris) at conboychris@gmail.com. Thanks in advance for your participation, and may God and his church be strengthened through us! Testimonies and Prayer Requests: Have a testimony (a short life story detailing some faith experience) or a prayer request that you would like to put before the community? If so, please contact us via email at trentchristianfellowship@gmail.com so I can send it to the group! If you wish it to be anonymous or to have only your first name sent out, just say so! Bigger World
After-School Bible Club: Volunteering Opportunity! Cynthia Hucks, from Ferndale Bible Church, is organizing an after-school bible club during January and February. It will be the five Wednesday afternoons from the start of term until reading break, from about 3:00 to 4:45pm on Wednesdays. This club will have about 25 kids, from grades 2 to 8. She is looking for a games leader, a song leader, a memory verse teacher and a missionary story teller. This is a GREAT opportunity for anyone in teacher's college, or concurrent education, or just anyone who wants to be a teacher. Get some teaching experience, a good resume line, and talk to kids about Jesus. To get involved, or for more information, contact John MacMillan: jhamacmillan@gmail.com.
Andrew Hutchinson, a member of Ferndale, would like to invite Trent students to join in an inductive study of John. Here's a description of the study: This year at Urbana (www.urbana09.org), students will be studying John 1-4; in preparation for this, I (Andrew Hutchinson) am interested in having an inductive scripture study of John. Anybody (whether you are planning on going to Urbana or not) who is interested in being a part of a scripture study of John 1-4 is very welcome to join. The hope is to have the study Sunday afternoons starting at 3:00PM. As reading week is coming up for many, I'm not sure what week we'll start; depending upon availability, we might wait until after reading week to begin. We should be able to finish John 1-4 before exams, and if people are interested, we could continue studying John after Christmas. AND in case you're interested, I enjoy baking, so don't be surprised if there are fresh cookies available at the study! Anyway, if anybody is either interested in the study or simply has questions or wants more details, please feel free to email me at andrewhutchin@trentu.ca. Opportunities to Serve: Our community needs people to serve, and as Christians it gives us a great opportunity to live out the Gospel! These groups don't require any skills or training beforehand, just a willing heart. If you want any more information, or if you've got other opportunities to serve, contact John MacMillan: jhamacmillan@gmail.com Peterborough Northumberland Victim Services needs volunteers. You can help as a front-line crisis responder, or as support for victims going to court. Either one is a great chance to minister to victims of crime or family disputes, who need emotional support. To get involved, or for more information, email pnvs2@bellnet.ca, or call 748-0324. The Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre needs volunteers for its 24-hour crisis line. They provide support to anyone who's been the target of sexual assault, harassment, or other victimization. To get involved, or for more info, email ksacvolunteers@nexicom.net or call 748-5901. NOTE: KSAC is currently taking female volunteers ONLY. Men, if you want to support victims of crime, talk to PNVS above. Closer to home, John MacMillan is coordinating an English practice group for international students. They're reading through stories in the Bible together, and talking about what they mean. Rodger Bailey from Ferndale is leading the lessons. The group is growing, and could use one or two more Canadian students to help out! They meet at 8pm on Mondays on campus. Email John if you could help out. No training required, just a smile, patience, and a couple hours a week! Volunteer @ the Bridge: Hey there TCF people! I am the After School Program Coordinator with Youth For Christ Peterborough and I am looking for volunteers to work with kids ages 8-13 on either Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday afternoons, starting in October. It's a great opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus to kids in Peterborough who really need it. There will be organized games and activities, a tutoring/homework help component, opportunities to cook with the children, and time to share the gospel with the kids in creative ways. If any of these areas interest you, or if you have a passion for kids and for serving Jesus in a tangible way, please get in touch with me. These children need role models like you to take an interest in their lives and point them to the hope that is found in Christ. My number at home is (705)742-7471, and my e-mail is godsgirls13@hotmail.com. Your sister in Him, Melanie Shepherd Community Advertisements Looking for a Room: Responsible Trent student, Nicholas, looking for a room. For reference call Joan at (613) 389-0920.
Closing Words I hope you have enjoyed this edition of the Trent Christian Fellowship Weekly Newsletter. If you have any requests for content to go within the Weekly, please feel free to contact us at trentchristianfellowship@gmail.com. As always, if you are in need of confidential help, you can contact our community care at tcfcommunitycare@hotmail.com. Please specify "for male" or "for female" in the subject header if it is something you wish to have addressed by someone of a specific gender. For an archive of all of our Weekly Newsletters, click here. Thank you for your interest in the Trent Christian Fellowship. May God be glorified through us all. In Christ, -Ben (TCF's Communications Coordinator). |
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2010.01.06 |